It has been demonstrated that CD8 positive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) recognize epitope peptides derived from the tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule, and then kill the tumor cells. Since the discovery of the melanoma antigen (MAGE) family as the first example of TAAs, many other TAAs have been discovered primarily through immunological approaches (NPL 1: Boon T, Int J Cancer 1993 May 8, 54(2): 177-80; NPL 2: Boon T & van der Bruggen P, J Exp Med 1996 Mar. 1, 183(3): 725-9). Some of these TAAs are currently undergoing clinical development as immunotherapeutic targets.
Identification of new TAAs capable of inducing potent and specific anti-tumor immune responses, warrants further development of clinical application of peptide vaccination strategies for various types of cancer (NPL 3: Harris C C, J Natl Cancer Inst 1996 Oct. 16, 88(20): 1442-55; NPL 4: Butterfield L H et al., Cancer Res 1999 Jul. 1, 59(13): 3134-42; NPL 5: Vissers J L et al., Cancer Res 1999 Nov. 1, 59(21): 5554-9; NPL 6: van der Burg S H et al., J Immunol 1996 May 1, 156(9): 3308-14; NPL 7: Tanaka F et al., Cancer Res 1997 Oct. 15, 57(20): 4465-8; NPL 8: Fujie T et al., Int J Cancer 1999 Jan. 18, 80(2): 169-72; NPL 9: Kikuchi M et al., Int J Cancer 1999 May 5, 81(3): 459-66; NPL 10: Oiso M et al., Int J Cancer 1999 May 5, 81(3): 387-94). To date, there have been several clinical reports of trials using these tumor-associated antigen derived peptides (NPL 11: Belli F et al., J Clin Oncol 2002 Oct. 15, 20(20): 4169-80; NPL 12: Coulie P G et al., Immunol Rev 2002 October, 188: 33-42; NPL 13: Rosenberg S A et al., Nat Med 2004 September, 10(9): 909-15).
Chromosome 1 open reading frame 59 (C1orf59) has been identified through cDNA library screening by Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC) (NPL 14: MGC Program Team, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2002 Dec. 24; 99(26):16899-903). However, it has not been confirmed whether C1orf59 might be used as a target for cancer immunotherapy against patients with tumors.